707 North Robinson, P.O. Box 1677, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101-1677 For Immediate Release: August 11, 2006Contact: Monty Elder, (405)702-1017

DEQ Honors Excellence in Pollution Prevention

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is recognizing five Oklahoma businesses for their achievements in pollution prevention. DEQ’s Oklahoma Star Incentive program recognizes businesses for their efforts to reduce waste and go beyond compliance to create a “greener” work environment.

This year, the Oklahoma Star program is honoring Tinker Air Force Base, Vireo Enterprises (Dry Cleaning Station), Flex -n-Gate Plastics, Bridgestone Firestone NA, and Webco Industries. These five businesses are participants in the voluntary program and each has significantly improved their environmental performance.

Dianne Wilkins, Pollution Prevention Program Manager for DEQ, said, “I have seen great improvements for all of these businesses, and I am proud to have been a part of their ambitious and successful environmental goals. These facilities are dedicated to creating a cleaner Oklahoma, and I hope to see more business owners following their lead.”

To be recognized by Oklahoma Star, a business must maintain compliance with environmental regulations and go beyond these regulatory requirements to improve worker safety and protect the environment. The program has three recognition levels: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each designation comes with its own rewards including being highlighted in local media and serving as a mentor to other interested business owners.

The five businesses being honored are all Gold minimum facilities. Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) is a Platinum level facility.

Tinker Air Force Base is a leader in waste reduction and pollution prevention. Tinker is also a partner in EPA's National Partnership for Environmental Priorities. Their goal is to reduce the quantity of several chemicals including mercury and cadmium currently found in products, processes, or releases using techniques such as source reduction, recycling, and materials management practices. Ongoing efforts will result in the elimination of 1800 pounds of five priority chemicals by December 2007.

News Release

The Dry Cleaning Station, owned by Tom Keenze and operated under the parent company Vireo Enterprises, is being recognized for its proactive pollution prevention policies. Located in Owasso, the Dry Cleaning Station is one of very few dry cleaners currently using the cleaning compound GreenEarth®. Approximately 80% of all dry cleaning businesses in the United States use perchloroethylene (Perc) which results in a hazardous waste when emitted into the air, water, and soil. GreenEarth® has no emissions and generates no hazardous waste. By choosing to use GreenEarth®, The Dry Cleaning Station has positioned itself as a leader among Oklahoma businesses in pollution prevention.

Flex-n-Gate Plastics, located in Ada, manufactures plastic exterior parts for General Motors and Ford. The facility was bought by new owners in 2003 and underwent a $10 million renovation. Since 2003, Flex-n-Gate has reduced their hazardous liquid waste by 87%, hazardous solid waste by 73% and air emissions by 77%. The company is actively involved in the recycling and reuse of its byproducts. Flex-n-Gate is an active partner with the Ada Recycling Coalition and serves as a resource for the Environmental Health Science Department at East Central University.

BFNT-OKC is a charter member of EPA Performance Track and has been an active participant in that program. The facility maintains a wildlife habitat that used to be a RCRA permitted facility that was cleaned and made habitable. The habitat is certified by Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC). The facility has developed a certified Corporate Lands for Learning Program (CLL) under the certification of the WHC. BFNT-OKC has been an active member of the Oklahoma County Local Emergency Planning Committee and members of the facility have been speakers advocating environmental excellence at local, national, and WHC Conferences. The company worked closely with local Boy Scout troops and Western Heights School District to provide a natural area for projects, and nature training. The facility also has enjoyed a working partnership with the Greater Oklahoma City Food Bank to provide food grown on facility lands to the Food Bank to help feed needy persons in the community.

Webco Industries in Sand Springs manufactures and supplies specialty tubing and pressure tubing products. During the process of creating tubing, hazardous waste is produced. In 2005, the owners of Webco decided to purchase an acid recovery system to reduce the amount of hazardous waste that was being created. From 2002 to 2004, before the system was in place, Webco generated more than four million pounds of hazardous waste. The associated annual waste disposal costs were $200,000. The installation of the new system has eliminated hazardous waste from this section of the manufacturing process.

DEQ is proud to recognize these five outstanding Oklahoma businesses for their achievements through the Oklahoma Star Program. A ceremony will be held to honor these businesses during Pollution Prevention Week in September.